Published
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Episode 4: Mr. D's Sanctuary
Living in a Zero-Trust Society: My Strange Daily Life Being Overwhelmed by a WEB3.0 Fundamentalist Engineer / Can’t Use DApps Without Running a Full Node!
Note
This story is written with the assistance of generative AI for the purpose of making the Web3.0 world enjoyable to learn about. While we pay careful attention to the accuracy of technical information, we cannot guarantee that all content is completely accurate. Please use this as a supplementary learning tool and enjoy it with a relaxed mindset.
Characters
- I: A novice developer who recently transitioned from being a DTP operator to an engineer
- Mr. D: A Web3.0 fundamentalist in his mid-40s with extreme vigilance
Episode 4: “Mr. D’s Sanctuary”
A few minutes later, we were standing in front of an old apartment building. Mr. D scanned the surroundings cautiously before approaching the door.
His unlocking procedure was astonishingly complex. First, he used a specially shaped physical key taken from his backpack to open the first lock. Next, he entered a 12-digit code on a small keypad installed beside the door. Finally, he held a small device from another pocket up to a hidden sensor near the door.
“Three-factor authentication. A combination of something you have, something you know, and something you possess.”
He said it as if it were obvious.
“You don’t use biometrics? Fingerprints or facial recognition?”
Mr. D frowned.
“Absolutely not. Biometrics? Storing fingerprints or facial data is out of the question. You can’t change biometric information. Once it leaks, it’s over. You can change a password, but you can’t change your fingers.”
He continued with a serious expression.
“Furthermore, many biometric systems store data on centralized servers. Entrusting your biometrics to a corporation is insanity.”
The door opened and Mr. D invited me inside.
The moment I stepped into his room, I gasped. It was nothing like the “suspicious hacker’s hideout” I had imagined. The place was astonishingly orderly. Bookshelves lined an entire wall, neatly filled with technical books and philosophy volumes.
On another wall, multiple monitors displayed various dashboards and graphs. In the center of the room sat a large table, on which several hardware devices were arranged in precise order.
“Welcome to my sanctuary.”
Mr. D said, a hint of pride in his voice. He removed his coat and hung it carefully.
“Have a seat. I’ll make tea.”
He headed to the kitchen and switched on an electric kettle.
“Do you also take apart your kettle at home to verify it?” I asked half-jokingly.
“Of course,” Mr. D answered with a straight face. “Smart home appliances with Wi‑Fi connectivity are out of the question. I disassemble all electronics after purchase and check for suspicious components or hidden communication modules.”
He continued while preparing tea.
“Same goes for hardware wallets. After purchase, first verify the signature of the official firmware to confirm authenticity, then initialize and use it.”
Returning to the table with tea, Mr. D pointed at a box containing a hardware wallet.
“When you get home, confirm that the packaging is factory-sealed and untampered. Then download the firmware from the official site and verify its signature. Perform the initial setup in an offline environment.”
He spoke with steady seriousness.
“Never store your seed phrase on a digital device. Write it by hand on paper and keep distributed backups in multiple locations. Ideally, engrave it on a metal plate so it can survive a fire.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“It’s standard if you want to protect assets,” Mr. D said as if it were obvious. “Would you leave your house key on the sidewalk in the real world? Would you write your bank PIN on a Post‑it and keep it in your wallet?”
He picked up one of the devices on the table.
“This is my next-generation air‑gapped device under development. Fully open source, with every component verifiable. I even build the batteries myself.”
The device looked even more handmade than the one I had seen before, with various electronic parts exposed.
“I prioritize security over practicality,” Mr. D said, looking slightly bashful. “I don’t care about appearance.”
I lifted the hardware wallet box and checked its contents.
“Will using this really make things safe?”
“There’s no such thing as absolute safety,” he said with surprising realism. “Security is always a trade-off with risk. Perfectly secure systems are hard to use, and easy-to-use systems are less secure. What matters is taking measures in line with your own risk tolerance.”
With an unusually gentle expression, he added:
“My approach may be extreme. But I worry when I see people who don’t even take minimal precautions. They don’t understand the risks they’re exposing themselves to.”
Mr. D picked up a book from the table and handed it to me.
“Read this. It’s the basics of cryptography. To understand how wallets work, you first need to learn the fundamentals of crypto.”
I flipped through the pages.
“Thank you. I’ll study it.”
He nodded and pointed at one of the monitors.
“Next time, I’ll teach you how to verify smart contracts. If you can’t read a contract’s source code, what exactly are you trusting?”
He stood and walked me to the entrance.
“I’ll contact you through encrypted channels. Report back once you’ve finished setting up the hardware wallet I gave you.”
As I was about to step out, Mr. D added one last line:
“If you can’t understand code, it’s just magic.
Understanding is the first step toward real trust.”
After leaving the apartment, I looked down at the hardware wallet box in my hands. Mr. D’s extreme vigilance sometimes feels comical, but perhaps his underlying philosophy isn’t wrong.
That night, I opened the book he had given me and began learning the basics of cryptography. Then I opened the hardware wallet box and started preparing for the initial setup.
Tech Tips
The difference between a hot wallet and a cold wallet is whether it stays connected to the internet. Hot wallets (like MetaMask) are always online and convenient, but carry higher risk of hacking. Cold wallets (hardware or paper wallets) are kept offline and are more secure, but require additional steps when used.
An air‑gap is a security practice where the device managing private keys is physically isolated from the internet. By transferring transaction data using visual methods such as QR codes, you can greatly reduce the risk of malware stealing private keys.
Wallet hierarchization means distributing assets across multiple wallets. Keep main assets in a high‑security cold wallet and use small, disposable hot wallets for day‑to‑day transactions to minimize risk.
Next Episode Preview: “Episode 5: Smart Contract Verification”
Mr. D’s next lesson: smart-contract verification. “Don’t be reassured just because there’s a Verified badge,” he warns. What does his thorough code-audit method look like…?
End of Episode 4